Stealing a secret technique?

Bang!

"Multi-Size Technique: Meat Tank!"

In the arena, Chōtō Akimichi, the "Ino" of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, let out a shout and unleashed his signature move. His entire body expanded, and he launched his attack.

Facing him was a ninja from a small ninja village. His ninjutsu and Taijutsu were both quite good, and he was particularly skilled with Rock Shield.

But even he struggled against Chōtō Akimichi's savage charges.

After Chōtō Akimichi unleashed Meat Tank, the first match of the Third Exam of the Chunin Ninja Exams reached a fever pitch.

"Chōtō, come on! Take that guy down!"

"Watch your defense! Damn it, he's from the Akimichi Clan! He can't stay like that for long!"

In the stands, both sides' teammates cheered them on, but judging by the situation, Chōtō Akimichi clearly had the advantage.

Mu Feng had entered alone and had no teammates. While everyone else discussed the fight animatedly, he yawned, looking utterly idle.

With a bye in the preliminary round, he could carry on like this until the preliminaries ended.

Everyone else, however, watched closely, carefully analyzing both fighters' strength and tactics. None of them could guarantee they wouldn't face one of the two later.

Rumble...

Meat Tank tore back and forth across the arena, filling it with clouds of dust.

After holding on for a while, the ninja from the small village finally reached his limit and raised his hand to surrender.

His Earth Release could indeed block Chōtō Akimichi's Meat Tank, but unfortunately, he had too little chakra to cast more than a few jutsu. Chōtō Akimichi, on the other hand, outlasted him and ultimately won the fight.

"Oh yeah!"

Seeing Chōtō Akimichi win, the "Cho" was delighted. In truth, the Yamanaka Clan was the least suited to combat among the Ino-Shika-Cho, so they generally didn't hold out much hope in head-on confrontations like this.

It was precisely because clans and jutsu like these existed that the final round of the Chunin Ninja Exams wasn't judged solely on victory or defeat. Judgment and performance during battle were more important.

"Damn it! How could Okaji go down here? Hey, you Konoha guys over there, don't get too cocky! Okaji was only the weakest of us! Next time, I'll show you what we're made of!"

On the other side, the two remaining ninjas from the small village were frustrated by their teammate's defeat, but there was nothing they could do.

Chōtō Akimichi had beaten his opponent fair and square.

"I hereby declare the first match over! The winner-Chōtō Akimichi!"

With Namiashi Raidō's final ruling, the first match officially came to a close amid Chōtō Akimichi's heavy breathing.

"Second match! The contestants are Kisame Hoshigaki of Kirigakure and Torune Aburame of Konoha!"

The second match soon began with Namiashi Raidō's announcement.

Torune Aburame and Kisame Hoshigaki stepped into the arena. Kisame had not yet obtained Samehada and was using an ordinary greatsword.

Even this greatsword was absurdly large. Its blade was longer than Kisame himself, making it look distinctly out of place strapped to his back.

As Kisame entered, the many students in the viewing stands immediately fell silent. The cold aura emanating from him left them feeling oppressed and uneasy.

"No wonder everyone had to steer clear of this guy in the Forest of Death. He's an absolute monster!"

"Can Torune handle him? No matter how I look at this guy, he doesn't seem like a normal human being."

"Have faith in Torune! He's pretty dependable when it counts!"

Hokado Hyuga and Hana Inuzuka exchanged remarks.

In the arena, Torune Aburame wore sunglasses, with his coat collar raised high around him. Compared with Kisame, he looked much more slightly built. Physically, the two weren't remotely in the same league.

"Heh, I was hoping to fight someone from the Uchiha Clan! But I didn't expect that guy to get so lucky! Now I'll just have to use you for a little practice!"

Kisame stared at Torune Aburame, a cold smile spreading across his face.

"Come at me!"

Torune Aburame remained composed. The Aburame Clan's innate gift allowed them to clearly sense an opponent's aura and power.

At that moment, to Torune Aburame, Kisame looked like a mass of highly concentrated chakra that could run wild at any moment. All it needed was a trigger to set it off.

But thanks to his Talent Secret Technique, Torune Aburame could remain perfectly calm even after sensing Kisame's power.

Besides, as far as Torune Aburame was concerned, the more chakra Kisame had, the happier his insects would be.

"Begin!"

The referee announced the start.

Thud, thud, thud-

The next instant, Kisame swung his greatsword and charged straight at Torune Aburame.

Torune Aburame turned his body sideways. His expression was unreadable, but he was already prepared for battle.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Fueled by chakra, the tiny insects inside Torune Aburame's body were already multiplying.

Kisame was fast. In the space of a single breath, he had reached Torune Aburame.

Having sensed Kisame's power, Torune Aburame dared not take him lightly. A buzzing sound rose, followed by a cloud of black mist drifting from his sleeve.

Naturally, this was no ordinary black mist, but the Aburame Clan's secret technique.

As the insects scattered, they almost instinctively began searching for chakra to devour. To them, Kisame was practically a five-star meal laid out on the table, delicious beyond compare.

Even without Torune Aburame directing them, the tiny insects surged eagerly toward Kisame.

Kisame immediately sensed something was wrong. He stared at the black mist, wariness appearing in his eyes.

Whoosh...

Having already charged forward, Kisame immediately sprang back, retreating in an instant.

Then something unexpected happened. After Kisame retreated, the black mist hovering around Torune Aburame didn't charge straight after him, but kept trying to surge forward.

In the spectator stands, Mu Feng's eyes brightened slightly at the sight. He stared at Torune Aburame's black mist, lost in thought.

Insects that can absorb chakra... If these things could live a little longer, they'd be terrifying on a battlefield!

Mu Feng rubbed his chin and began to ponder.

In Mu Feng's view, the Aburame Clan's strength had been greatly downplayed in the original story.

Imagine an insect capable of devouring energy. Even if just one infested someone, it could absorb chakra and reproduce endlessly, killing a ninja in a very short time.

Developed properly, something like that would absolutely qualify as a biological weapon.

Ordinary ninjas would have no way to survive such a jutsu. It was purely a relationship between prey and predator.

Maybe I can look into it someday... With the system around, I should be able to learn secret techniques too, right?